A Light in the Darkness
by DerpTheAlmighty
Summary: It has been a long time since Mata Nui defeated Makuta Teridax. Spherus Magna is at war. When six Toa arrive from the sky, they are faced with a seemingly impossible task: to protect the people of Spherus Magna and fight against the forces of darkness trying to control their home. The fate of the people of Spherus Magna rests in their hands. Suggestions in the comments are welcome!
1. Arrival

Rasi looked curiously at the falling star. The star was emitting a reddish gold light as it plummeted downwards. Rasi then realized something. The star was heading towards him. The Ta-matoran dashed down the sloping plateau and hid, cowering, behind a large obsidian rock. As the red-gold star neared the surface of the plateau, increasing in speed, the polished black surface of the obsidian glowed as if on fire. The star crashed into the plateau, sending rubble everywhere. Rasi whimpered in fear. He waited. Seconds seemed like minutes; minutes seemed like hours. Finally, he summoned all of his courage and looked at the plateau. Something seemed to be moving. Something was happening inside the screen of smoke. Rasi stealthily made his way up the broken plateau.

The Ta-matoran struggled up the jagged, sloping side of the plateau. He tried his best not to break off rocks, but the occasional pebble fell, ricocheting down. Yet the sound of the bouncing pebble was muffled by the sound of movement and the flickering of fires coming from inside the cloud of smoke. He peered into the thick smoke, and to his surprise, he saw a being. Yet, the being was assembling itself, connecting pieces of his body together to form a tall, intimidating figure. The being was armored in red, gold, and gunmetal gray armor. Two swords were sheathed and rested on his back, along with a bow, though no quiver was in sight. The being stopped moving. Rasi was so busy staring at the being, that he did not see the rock. His foot disturbed it, and it bounced down the jagged side of the plateau. In the silence, each bounce was like an explosion. The being turned sharply, and Rasi made an involuntary shout. The face was bare, and the cyan eyes seemed to pierce into Rasi's own green ones. A hand shot up and unsheathed a katana-like sword. Rasi immediately noticed that it looked like a flame.

"Who goes there?" the being demanded.

"Only a lowly matoran," Rasi said, afraid. He backed away slowly.

"Matoran…" whispered the being, "Why do I know this word? Anyway, you do not look like a threat, and you definitely don't sound like one."

"Who are you?" the matoran asked. The being thought. The answer came almost immediately.

"I am Talak," the being replied.

Talak knelt and picked up a red mask. He put it on his face, and he felt the raw power course though his body. The matoran gazed in awe at the red mask on Talak's face. He had never seen such a mask before.

"Are you a Toa?" Rasi asked.

"I do not know," Talak responded. Toa and Matoran sounded so familiar to him. But why?

"Maybe Turaga Tahu would know," Rasi said, "He knows everything! If you are a Toa, a hero, then… you could save us."

"Save you from whom? Or what?" Talak asked. Toa, Matoran, Turaga. Why were these words so familiar?

"The darkness," Rasi said softly, "The darkness. It has terrorized us for many years, and all those years, we have resisted. But the darkness is growing stronger now, and the Turaga say that we may not survive this time. You have to be a Toa. You must…"

"I will try. If I am a Toa, I will fight for you and your people. If I am not a Toa, then I will fight like one. I promise." Talak held out his hand, and the matoran shook it.


	2. Calix

Talak walked carefully down the slope of the plateau. The Ta-matoran, Rasi, followed closely behind. After various stumbles and falls, the two finally made it to the ground. Rasi looked again at Talak's strange mask.

"I wonder what that mask is," he asked, "We have a giant carving of all the masks, but yours is not among them."

"I am just as curious as you are, my small friend," Talak replied, "Maybe your 'Turaga' could help us find out. He seems to know a lot."

"Oh, yes. Turaga Tahu is very wise. He used to be a Toa, you know."

The conversation was cut short by a loud sound. A rumble, not unlike a landslide. Rasi's eyes widened.

"Hikaki!" he yelled, "Hikaki stampede! Run! Run before you get trampled!"

Talak wanted to ask Rasi what Hikaki were, but he decided that the best course of action was to listen to the Matoran and run. Judging by Rasi's stature, however, Talak predicted that the Matoran's speed was not phenomenal. He picked up Rasi and ran. Then a strange thing happened. Talak's mask glowed, and their speed rose. Soon, Talak was racing over the obsidian plains at lightning speed. Rasi grinned up at the taller being.

"You run fast," he said simply, "Maybe you have a Kakama, the Mask of Speed."

"Are Toa the only beings with mask powers?" Talak asked, breathing hard.

"Oh, no. Turaga have mask powers. So do Glatorian, if they were blessed with elemental powers by Mata Nui. Mata Nui gave them the power to wear and use masks. Matoran, that is, special Matoran, can use mask powers, too. But we don't have many elemental Matoran these days. Most of them joined the Dark Hunters, or Velika's Empire of Darkness. There are others, so just because you can use a mask doesn't mean that you're a Toa. That's why I'm not sure if you're one or not. Do you-" Rasi's eyes widened, "Lava lake ahead! The Hikaki are still stampeding in our direction, and the lake's too large! We're trapped!"

Talak did not stop. Whether it was instinct, desperate hope, or something else, he did not know, but Talak jumped. He closed his eyes. They were not going to make it. The lake was too wide. They would fall into the lava. But once again, almost miraculously, his mask glowed, and Talak somersaulted in mid-air. Seconds later, Talak landed, feet-first, on the other side of the lava lake, with Rasi safe in his arms. The matoran stared.

"I know what your mask is," Rasi whispered in awe, "That's a Calix. There's only been three recorded Calixes in all of history, and those were organic. Yours is a pure, inorganic, un-mutated Calix. Oh, this is a happy day!"

"What does it do?" Talak asked, touching the red mask in reverence.

"The Calix is the Mask of Fate," Rasi said immediately, as if reading out of a textbook, "It allows the user to perform at his or her physical peak. It also has the ability to change the user's fate when performing any possible task. When you jumped over the lava lake, your Calix allowed you to jump with all your strength, your physical peak, and altered your fate slightly so that you landed safely, feet-first, on the other side.

"How do you know so much about masks?" Talak asked, a little unnerved at the Matoran's knowledge.

"I'm a mask maker," Rasi said with enthusiasm, "I'm the best in Ta-Wahi! I create masks, some have a little power, but most are powerless, meant for us Matoran."

"Friend," Talak inquired once more, "I seem to recognize many words that you say, yet I do not know what they mean. You told me that Toa are hero-like beings. A Matoran must be what you are. But I do not know about _Glatorian __or_ _Agori_ or _Turaga_ or _Koro_."

"Mata Nui," the Mask Maker said in exasperation, "You have a lot to learn."

"I don't know _Mata Nui_ either," Talak said, smiling.

Rasi laughed, and the two walked towards the majestic city of Ta-Koro, the smaller figure introducing and defining words, and the taller figure nodding his head. After some time, the two stopped in front of Ta-Koro's huge gate. As Rasi nodded towards the guards, Talak wondered whether or not he was a Toa. The guards bowed, and the gate rose. Behind them, miles away now, the Hikaki nested in their new home near the lava lake as Talak and Rasi entered Ta-Koro.


	3. Confirmation

With numerous clangs and rattles, the gate of Ta-Koro slid shut behind the two figures. Faces peeked out of obsidian huts, and some even rushed out, staring at the taller of the two figures. The staring made Talak feel uncomfortable and he began to shift from one foot to another.

"Oh, they're just staring," the smaller figure laughed.

"It's weird," Talak replied, rather childishly.

They made their way over a massive obsidian bridge. A huge lava lake spanned underneath it, bubbling angrily. They passed more huts, towers, and barracks, until they reached a large, circular structure. Above the entrance, symbols were engraved. Surprisingly, Talak found that he was able to read the symbols. They read, "Turaga's Chamber." Talak and Rasi entered.

"Ah, Rasi," the hunched figure said, turning. He noticed Talak, and he adopted a look of absolute surprise. "Oh, hello. Who might you be?"

"I am Talak," Talak replied simply.

"He fell from the sky in a canister!" Rasi exclaimed, "Just like you did, Turaga."

"I see," Turaga Tahu said, "I suppose you want to know if he's a Toa. Well, he probably is, if he fell out of the sky in a canister. The same thing happened to me. But, just in case, and for the sake of tradition and procedure, we will have to perform the test. Rasi, could you call an assembly? I'm taking Talak to the Platform."

"Yes, Turaga Tahu." Rasi replied. He walked over to a horn resting on a table, raised it to his metallic lips, and blew.

The Turaga walked out, with Talak following. They walked to a raised platform in the middle of what seemed to be a huge volcano. Lava bubbled around them. In the center of the Platform, there was a small dais for a small, jagged yellow stone. It glowed, and the glow was brighter than the light coming from the lava.

"So," Talak said, "you literally call this 'the Platform?'"

"We have no other name for it," Tahu replied, "And besides, it fits. It is a platform."

Matoran gathered around the sea of lava, looking out into the small platform in the center with the two beings and the strange yellow stone. The Turaga turned and addressed the crowd:

"Today we have gathered to witness the confirmation of our salvation," his voice could be heard by all, but how, Talak did not know, "Long have we waited for this day to come. But at last, a Toa has arrived! And to confirm that a hero has truly arrived to us, we will now observe as he puts his hand on the Energy Stone."

Tahu turned to Talak.

"Put your hand on the stone and try to channel your power into it. Try to…direct your power and energy out of you hand and into the stone. It's difficult at first, but you'll get the hang of it. The stone absorbs energy, and this stone is of a special kind. It identifies power. If you let it absorb some of your power, it will tell us all what kind of power it is. So go on; it doesn't bite."

Talak looked at the glowing stone and looked at the thousands of Ta-matoran looking at him. Waiting expectantly. Taking a deep breath, Talak steadied himself and put his hand on the stone. He concentrated and imagined his power flowing through his body, through his arm, and out of his hand and into the stone. He looked down at his hand and found that it was glowing red, and the stone, too, was starting to turn orange. It turned a darker orange and then finally, red. With a loud _whoosh,_ the now red stone emitted a pulse of light. A beacon of red light shot up into the sky, illuminating it. Symbols appeared around the beam, reading 'Toa of Fire' Matoran looked up in awe at the beam and Talak, who was surprised at the beam himself, stared in genuine shock. The Turaga simply looked amused at all the reactions. Minutes later, a white beam could be seen, with the words 'Toa of Ice' glowing around it. It was far away. Shortly after, a dark blue beam and the words 'Toa of Lightning' lit up the sky. After that, a blue beam and a green beam shot up almost simultaneously. The blue beam had words saying 'Toa of Water', while the green one said 'Toa of Air.' Almost immediately after that, a blue-green beam was seen that had the words 'Toa of the Green.' Minutes passed. The Turaga stopped looking for more beams and began to speak.

"I present to you, T—"

A final gray beam lit up the sky with symbols saying 'Toa of Iron.' It was surprisingly close by.

"As I was saying," Turaga Tahu continued, slightly annoyed, "I present to you, Toa Talak, Toa of Fire!"

The matoran burst into cheers. Rasi pointed at Talak and shouted, "I knew it!" As the matoran cheered, the Turaga turned to the Toa.

"Now, with great power comes great responsibility. I do have some advice for your time as a Toa. Temper will be a problem. A big one. Even if you try not to be angry, you will be. It is inevitable for you to be angered, such is the nature of fire, but it is not inevitable for that anger to turn into uncontrolled rage. Learn to control your temper. Learn how to use your anger, not let your anger use you. Anger is incredibly useful as a fuel and motivation. There are many other things for you to learn, but it is best for you to learn them through experience. Good luck!" The Turaga smiled, and Talak grinned nervously.


	4. Leader

Talak stirred. He yawned and rose from his bed, which was made of obsidian and mahi wool. It was surprisingly comfortable. With a start, he noticed that someone was knocking at the door.

"Sorry!" he exclaimed, as he rushed to open the door.

"It's about time," said Tahu, acknowledging Talak with a tilt of his head. Talak responded with a slight bow. He continued, "We're going to have to travel today. It's going to take a little while, so we should start going soon."

"Where are we going?" Talak inquired.

"To Av-Kini, the Temple of Light. Others call it Kini-Nui out of tradition. There, we will meet your comrades and the other Turaga to discuss our plan of action. We must also form your team. We must determine the leader and find out your mask powers and basic abilities. But first, we need to actually get there." Tahu exited the room, and Talak hastily rushed to follow him.

The journey was not hard, but it was long. When they exited the hot, rocky terrain of Ta-Koro, they were met with the arid, windy climate of the Po-Koro desert. They walked through the desert until Talak thought he could stand the sight of sand no more. But at last, they reached a pleasant meadow. In the middle of the meadow stood an enormous golden structure, with arches and spires and a complex network of towers and open courtyards. In the center of this temple (it seemed to be more of a castle in its magnificence) was a round dais with seven niches. Talak looked in awe. The only description he could think of was "magnificent." His attention quickly changed, as a green-armored being dashed around in circles screaming something along the lines of:

"WHAT IN THE NAME OF MATA NUI IS THIS GOLDEN GOODNESS?! IT'S SO GOLDEN! LOOK A-"

"Oh, shut your mouth." Silence. All heads (for there were many) turned towards the small, frowning, white figure who had spoken the words with such disdain. He was Turaga Tahu's height, with a walking stick and a small, round shield. Behind him stood a Toa clad in white, who had two jagged swords sheathed on his back.

"That's Turaga Kopaka. Pay him no mind-thought. He was always irritable, but now he's even more so because of his bad-hurt leg. Ice is cold. So are those who wield it." The voice was high and lilting. Talak turned in surprise, and found himself facing a green Turaga. The Turaga smiled, "Greetings. I'm Turaga Lewa. I apologize for the loud-yelling. Lehram has trouble being still-calm. But he is yet in his life-dawn. He will quick-learn, I am sure. What? Oh, is it the accent? We people of the wind and jungle say-speak words a bit differently. We name-call it 'Tree-Speak.' But where are my nice-manners? What is your name, Fire-Spirit?"

"Talak. My name is Talak," Talak replied, slightly overwhelmed. So many new faces.

"If I could have everybody's attention," Turaga Tahu declared, loud enough to be heard by all. He continued, "At last, we look upon the salvation that we have longed for. Toa, I will not lie; your mission is a hard one. Not only must you defend the Matoran from the forces of Velika, Dark Hunters, Skakdi, and other threats, you must also defend our allies, the Agori. Although they refuse our help, I have no doubt that they desperately need it. Being a Toa is no easy task. You are not invincible; all power has a limit. At first, controlling your power will be difficult and frustrating, but later on, you will be able to wield it with a simple thought. Each of you has your own elemental power." He paused.

He continued, "Talak, you control fire. You are very powerful, but do not let the fire get out of control, or it will consume you. Heed my advice and control your temper. Koparek, you wield the cold, unrelenting power of ice. Beware. Alone, you can do little. United, you can reach the stars. Lehram, you have the elemental power of air. With enough buildup, you can demolish anything. But remember, air needs buildup to be powerful. Short, sudden bursts will do nothing. They are also extremely annoying. Galani, master of water. Water is a bilateral element. It heals burns effectively and purifies wounds. You must keep your team united, and heal any tear in relationships. Water is also dangerous. With enough force, and enough buildup, you can topple buildings. I have no doubts in your patience, but you must also strike when it is right. The tide comes in and goes out, all on schedule. Botahl, friend of all that plants that grow, do not be timid like flowers. Be sudden and explosive, like the thornax and the madu. Be flexible and versatile. Plants grow strong because of this trait. Certain plants are also known for healing. Work with Galani, and insure that no permanent harm comes to your comrades. Vorakhe, embrace the power of Lightning. Be sudden and quick. Strike with power and with purpose. Strike rarely in the same place. Disorient your opponent. But remember, just as you strike with purpose, act with purpose as well. And last but not least, Ferrun, one of iron. Be strong and resistant, not only in strength, but mentally, as well. Be of iron will, but think your opinion out first. It is useless to fight for a pointless cause. Be quick. Linger too long, and you will begin to get rusty. Always be alert. Dull iron may pack a punch, but when sharp, it is deadly. These are my words of advice to you."

"Remember, you are part of a team," Turaga Onua spoke, "Work together, in union. Everyone is equally important, but there must be a driving force. The team leader is that driving force, and he or she must make the decisions. Preferably after talking with the rest of the team." He turned and shot a quite obviously accusatory gaze at Turaga Tahu. Tahu laughed and replied meekly, "I got better…"

"I think the young-Toa are getting bored-tired of your slow-talking. Let us quick-cut to the chase. We must pick the team-leader. Who wants to be the team-leader? Raise your hand up-high." The green armored and robed Turaga looked upon the unresponsive audience with diminishing excitement. Disappointed, he said, "No one? Why is it never quick-easy to do things around here?" He groaned.

"Patience, Lewa," Turaga Gali said, "I think we should determine the leader in a more unorthodox fashion. It would be better if we chose the Toa most fitted for the position. If the Toa of Fire is best suited, then so be it, but we should give the other Toa a chance."


	5. Ambush

"Why are you such a party pooper?" Lehram asked Koparek in disgust. Koparek was preventing Lehram from skipping stones across a nearby pond.

"If you weren't such a partier, there wouldn't be any parties to 'poop,'" Koparek retorted. Lehram glared at the white armored Toa. He brought out a sleek, circular chakram. There was a line, barely noticeable, that ran in between the center handle that allowed to chakram to be split it in two, creating two semi-circle hand blades. Lehram threw the chakram straight up into the air. But instead of letting gravity pull it down, Lehram created gusts of wind that kept the chakram steady in the air. The chakram spun horizontally in place, like a levitating circular saw.

"Make me, icetoa," he challenged.

"I certainly will," Koparek replied. A thin layer of ice blanketed the ground, and he attempted to draw his jagged weapon. But something was wrong. His mechanical body was not moving. His organic body, try as it might, could not move the various hinges, gears, and pistons that reinforced it. It was as if the mechanical parts were refusing to move. Lehram was experiencing the same feeling, and the chakram had fallen to the ground.

"What… is… this?" Koparek asked in shock.

"Ferrokinesis," Ferrun replied. He, too seemed to be in pain, but it seemed to be of a different sort. Finally, he released his hold on the mechanical workings of the two Toa. All three collapsed. Ferrun closed his eyes and vowed, "Never… will… I… do that… again."

"You probably won't have to. Toa have mechanical parts that are so easy to manipulate because they move more freely, so that they can move quicker and with increased fluidity. Fortunately, beings with control over metals are extremely rare, and control over more than two beings is nearly impossible. That was actually quite impressive, Ferrun, but because you all have just started using your limbs again, your mechanical parts are readjusting, which makes them more susceptible to manipulation," Turaga Zaria assured Ferrun.

"What were you thinking?" Turaga Tahu asked, enraged. He continued, "We were only gone for thirty minutes! How do you devolve into such squabbling, impatient animals in that time? And where is Talak?"

"He stormed off into the woods a while ago," Galani replied.

"If you wouldn't mind, Kopaka, could y-" Tahu started, but Kopaka interrupted him.

"Already on it," he said. The Turaga's mask glowed, and he searched the woods, using the x-ray vision his mask granted him.

"He's not far away," the Turaga muttered, "He's bashing his head against a tree."

"I'll get him. Just point me in his direction," Turaga Pohatu offered. His mask glowed as well. Using the enhanced speed his Kakama granted him, Pohatu raced off into the forest. Seconds later, he returned, walking this time, with Talak behind him. Talak was grateful that the mask hid his true, blushing face. Still, he hung his head in embarrassment.

Sighing, Turaga Onua spoke: "We were not able to reach a unanimous decision on the leader of your team, so we will just have to go with the traditional method. Talak, Toa of Fire, you will be the leader of the team. For your sake and the sake of your teammates, heed Tahu's advice. He's learned from experience. We believe that the tradition has some practicality behind it. Toa of Fire have the courage and boldness to get things done. They have the passion to do their job. They have a surprisingly large amount of logic. They just need to keep their pride and their anger controlled."

Tahu was about to speak when Kopaka cut him off.

"Something's moving out there, I can hear it," he whispered urgently.

"It's probably just some rahi," Tahu replied, slightly angry at Kopaka for cutting him off.

"No," Kopaka whispered. His mask glowed. He continued, "It looks… like a Bohrok."

"Oh, nonononononononononononononono," Turaga Lewa looked horrified. He backed away from the forest and hid behind a large boulder. Onua snickered.

"No," Kopaka continued, "It doesn't look right. I hate this noble Akaku. It has such low quality. Oh… Oh no. We have a potential ambush on our hands. Get away from everything."

Turaga Lewa scampered away from the boulder just in time. It bubbled and convulsed like some stone-colored liquid until it became the hulking figure of a shapeshifting Baterra. It advanced on the Turaga. Three other Baterra appeared from the forest.

"Didn't we get rid of these?" Turaga Chiara asked frantically.

"Apparently not," Lewa replied, "Why do the Great Beings have to make such bad-evil things?"

"They make mistakes," Onua replied, edging away.

Lehram picked up his chakram. He split it into two hand blades and charged at one of the Baterra. He became a whirlwind of motion as he swiped the blades at the Baterra furiously. The Baterra parried each attack. It lunged in an offense of its own, and its blades shot out, catching Lehram off guard. They tore through the Toa's green armor and scratched the exposed muscle. Lehram yelped and jumped back, clutching his left shoulder. He threw a shuriken at his opponent and altered the wind so as to guide the weapon to its target. It hit the Baterra in the neck and stuck. Sparks flew from the wound, and the mechanical being toppled to the floor.

Ferrun was facing a much more dangerous opponent. The Baterra had taken his own form. The Toa was now facing a mirror image of himself. The iron staff in his hand twisted and bubbled until he held a large sword. He lunged, but the Baterra dodged his strike and caught the blade on its staff. The Baterra twisted the staff, and almost disarmed Ferrun, but at the last second, the Toa had formed his sword into a war hammer. The Baterra shapeshifted so that it also held a hammer. It quickly changed its mind and morphed so that it held the sword that Ferrun had used earlier. Ferrun swung at the Baterra. It parried with its sword. The Baterra swiped at the Toa. Ferrun dodged. The fight went on like this for a few more minutes until there was a sickening _crunch! _The Baterra fell, twitching and sizzling. A noticeably large, hammer shaped dent disfigured its face. Ferrun stared.

"I've never fought before…" he whispered, "But I feel like I have… I feel like I've already been trained. How is that possible?"

The Turaga, excluding Zaria and Chiara looked at each other.

Koparek engaged another Baterra. They circled each other cautiously. The Toa of Ice looked truly fearsome. He gripped a serrated, dangerous-looking weapon that looked like a cross between an icicle, a sword, and a saw. He glared at his opponent with cold, calculating eyes, and his jaw was set. His stance was that of determined ferocity. If the Baterra could feel emotion, it might have simply surrendered in fear. The battle was relatively quick. The Baterra struck first. The Toa ducked and stabbed at the Baterra. The saw-sword (the closest description for the weapon) passed easily through the robot's chest. Koparek pulled the sword out and sheathed it calmly. He tapped the Baterra lightly and it collapsed onto the ground, convulsing slightly.

Talak took on the final Baterra. The Toa of Fire may not have had Koparek's cold, fear-inducing aura, but he was determined and bold. Instead of circling, Talak went straight into an offense. He feinted to the left. The Baterra attempted to block the stroke, but Talak lunged to the Baterra's open right, severing its arm. Twisting his hand ever so slightly, Talak sliced the Baterra's head off. For an added measure, he took his bow, which had no bowstring. Using his power over fire, he created a bowstring and nocked an arrow to it. He drew back the arrow, and fired. The arrow whistled into the air and embedded itself into the Baterra's forehead. Talak wondered how he could be so accurate, this being the first time he had used the bow, but was it? There were faint memories of him shooting, but that was impossible. His life had started when he landed on that plateau. There were no memories before that. Nevertheless, he kept his thoughts to himself. He dismissed the faint memories as a figment of his imagination and his accuracy as beginner's luck. He sheathed his swords, put his bow on his back, retrieved the arrow, and joined the others. The Baterra's head lay, flaming, on the grass. Soon it exploded, leaving singed metal and frayed wires strewn on the ground.


	6. Velika

"My Lord," a small figure shuffled up and bowed in front of the figure sitting upon the glistening throne. It continued, saying, "They defeated our scouts easily, but we gave one, the one in green, a rather nasty blow. The scouts did not last for long, but we have a visual on the beings. It was as our source said, they are Toa, and extremely adept fighters, I must say. In total, they are seven. Yet we know only of the elements of four of the Toa. They are Fire, Ice, Air, and Iron. The other three did not engage."

"All according to plan," the seated being replied, in a deep and gravelly voice that shook you to the bone.

"Yes. But, if I may speak, my Lord,"

"You may."

"The Baterra responded a little late. They were designed to attack once the Toa had arrived. Why didn't they attack then?"

"I employed the least powerful of my Baterra. We must deploy them sparingly, we only have so much. I recovered few of what once was a legion, few of them I resurrected from miserable heaps of scrap. There are bound to be glitches and stutters in the system. Now, Ahkmou, if you have no other questions or concerns, you may leave; I have other things to concern myself with."

The matoran shuffled away.

"Nektann, how are the Skakdi forces doing?"

"Growing ever larger and becoming ever deadlier, my Lord."

"Good. Roodaka, what is the status of the Vortixx army and the Visorak horde?"

"The Vortixx are ready, my Lord. As are the Visorak."

"Excellent. And you, Vanisher, any news on the Dark Hunters?"

"None. The Shadowed One keeps me far, far away from his fortress, sending me constantly on missions. But from the brief moments I have spent on that island recently, I suspect that he is massing his forces, preparing to strike. At whom, I do not know."

"Well then, he suspects that you are working for me. Therefore," said the being. He leaped from his throne, drew his sword, and plunged it into the chest of the Dark Hunter. "I need you no more. I often forget how freeing it is, now that I am no longer confined to that miserable Matoran body." He stretched out his hand, and a purple gas seemed to stream from the Dark Hunter's chest and into the middle of his palm.

"Continue training your armies. I will speak to my other generals. Be patient. We will not attack soon. The fiercest predator does what its prey does not expect it to do."

And with that, Velika returned to his throne.


	7. The Shadowed One

**I know, I know, another villain chapter. But I can justify this: Anything in The Shadowed One's POV makes for very interesting writing and I needed a chapter that would correspond with Velika's. Also, there are two other non Matoran/Toa/Agori parties besides Velika and the Dark Hunters. But that's for later and they are completely original and non canon. Enjoy!  
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20 Years and 30 Days after the Reformation

Vanisher has not returned from his mission. I have sent him on a fairly easy one, yet he does not return. Tracker has instead completed the mission, reporting that Vanisher had been nowhere near the area. Tracker is currently hunting him. This confirms my suspicion: Vanisher has joined another party. Velika, I assume. I did not bother to send operatives to spy on him; they all mysteriously "disappear." I am sending less and less people on missions, and am recruiting more and more operatives, in preparation for war. Vanisher has no doubt noticed this and has probably already relayed this information to Velika. The fool expects me to strike first. I know his kind. The "Great" Beings are not a patient species. He will soon break and will attack someone else to pass the time. Then, I will strike. I can wait.

New Entry for Operative List (File under 'C'):

**CHAMELEON**

During Teridax's brief reign, there existed a rather large group of rebel Matoran who had the silly idea that they could somehow usurp him. Chameleon, a reckless Le-Matoran, was a member of this group. One day, they encountered a small pool of Pit Mutagen. Not knowing what the substance was, they threw a stick into it. When it came back up, having sprouted thorns and living vines, the foolish Matoran thought it would enhance them, making them stronger and more dangerous. The Le-Matoran was the first to jump in.

When he had surfaced, the other Matoran stood facing a terrifying, mutated version of what used to be their friend. In fear, they fled. The fact that they knew it was him and had still run away hurt Chameleon, and he has gained a strong hatred of the little fools and their allies. He was hell-bent on revenge and was ravaging a nearby village when one of my operatives found him and brought him to my fortress, where I taught him how to use his new, Mutagen-induced powers.

He is very loyal to me. He has not yet questioned any job I have given him, nor has he failed to complete his mission. He is efficient and clean, rarely leaving any evidence that he was there besides the poison in the victim's body, the two serpentine puncture holes, and occasionally, a stone engraved with his true Matoran name nearby.

**POWERS: **Chameleon has the power to blend in with his surroundings almost perfectly. There is not even a shadow. The only flaw is that whenever he moves, his camouflage shimmers and becomes distorted. Somehow, he gained the use of his Powerless Felnas, which is able to cause any one natural active power of another being to go out of control. His hands have now mutated into two-digit (excluding the thumb) claws, which can secrete a deadly poison at will. All these traits have allowed him to become an exceptional assassin.

**STATUS: **Active. He is currently attempting to assassinate a rather powerful Glatorian who strongly believes in 'justice' and 'honor' and other nonsense like that. If he returns, and I am sure he will, he may be on his way to becoming one of my most trusted operatives.


	8. Emergency

Talak joined the other Toa. They were talking among themselves.

"What in Mata Nui's name were those?" asked Botahl, voicing the question that was on the all the Toas' mind.

He spun the small pine needle like blade in his hand as if it were a pencil.

"Baterra. They are machines made specifically to destroy rebel Toa. They were a sort of…backup plan," replied Turaga Kopaka, "But they backfired and they ended up trying to eliminate anything with a weapon. We ended up destroying the majority of their army, but Velika found some that we missed and found a way to mass produce them. The ones we just encountered are probably scouts, set up to see whether you Toa actually existed."

Suddenly, a faint shouting began to get louder and louder.

"Turaga! Turaga Lewa! The Le-Wahi is on fire!" a Le-Matoran messenger landed his gukko bird, yelling frantically.

"What?" Turaga Lewa asked incredulously, "Who did this evil-deed? Are Bo-Matoran and Le-Matoran well-safe?"

"We know nothing of the fire-starter, elder-Turaga. Matoran are well-safe. We quick-moved to Ga-Koro. Ga-Matoran sent to out-put fire and Ta-Matoran to save-find Matoran stuck-trapped in forest. We started dark-time plan." He put his hand to the side of his mask, touching a small device. He continued, "Vo-Koro will broadcast distress signal now. All Matoran should come in 45 minutes. Fire-squad will have to stay and finish their jobs, though."

Turaga Tahu stepped in and asked the Le-Matoran: "So the Matoran in the western sector, the Fe-Matoran, Po-Matoran, Onu-Matoran, Vo-Matoran, and Fa-Matoran, are traveling by tunnel-chute, correct? Using the underground Onu-Fe-Wahi system?"

"Yes, sir. Po-Wahi's sand-winds would break-wreck any above-ground chutes, sir."

"I am aware of that."

"I'm afraid fire-spitters," he stopped himself, "Uh, I mean, Ta-Matoran, sir. They will have to ground-walk for a quick-time, sir. Their tunnel-chute system is down. There was lava spill, and they closed to patch up. But I think you know that, sir. Fire-spitters escorted by Fa-Matoran path-guiders. When they reach Fe-Koro entrance, they transfer to the tunnel-chute system here."

"Oh, I didn't think of using the Fe-Koro entrance. Well, at least we got some exercise walking here, Talak. And the Matoran in the eastern sector?"

"Water-maidens, Le-Matoran, and plant-growers arriving by chute, sir. Ba-Matoran and loud-talk De-Matoran also using chutes, sir. Snow-walkers, Mind-readers, and soft-talk De-Matoran go underground and use tunnel-chutes to get here. Too dangerous to put chutes above-ground in Ko-Wahi, what with all the ice-winds and all. The Su-Matoran say they using the ground-path, sir. They ever-hate chutes.

"Yes, they were always…different. Good. Everything is in order. Good to see that the procedures are being followed."

"Yes, sir," The Le-Matoran checked his headpiece again. "First group of Matoran coming in 5 minutes."

"Well, how about a story to pass the time?" asked Turaga Gali.

"Oh, yes, that would be good," said Lehram excitedly, "Long-waiting is so boooring."

"How about we explain the war against Velika?" Onua suggested.

"Really? I tell that story all the time!" Tahu whined gruffly. (Is that even possible?) He saw the expression on Gali's face and coughed. "Ahem. Sure! Let's tell that story!" He adopted a story telling tone and began to tell the story:


	9. Tahu's Suspicion

"_Damn it!" Tahu cursed. _

_How did it come to this? He thought miserably. First that poor Matoran, Velika, was kidnapped. Then this—this hell had poured onto them. It was strange, though. Why Velika? The little inventor couldn't possibly have done anything to anger anyone enough to get kidnapped. And why did all of this happen after the kidnapping? What did it mean?_

_A Skrall lunged at Tahu, breaking his concentration. A nearby Ta-Matoran guard raced to the rescue, slicing the head off with the shortsword. _

"_Are you alright, sir?" the guard asked._

"_Yes, Rasi. I'm fine. Just…distracted," Tahu replied._

_A horde of Skrall snarled and charged at the two figures. Tahu's mask glowed and a shimmering forcefield surrounded them both. In one quick motion, he snapped his fingers. The air in front of them burst into a blazing inferno. The Skrall screeched as their metal armor melted and their organic tissue smoldered. The flames lapped against the forcefield. Soon the Skrall were nothing but smoking piles of ash. The forcefield dissipated and Tahu rose, smiling. He loved that trick. _

"_How long can this last, sir? Last week it was Skakdi, and the week before that, it was those weird Rahkshi mutants. And the week before that Velika was kidnapped. Do you think he has something to do with this, sir?"_

"_They're trying to weaken us. They're attacking us by Koro, trying to wear our defenses down. But it does seem strange, Velika must have something to do with it all, but I just don't know what. Anyway, I think that was the last of them. 1__st__ defensive formation, troops! 1__st__ defensive!"_

_The Ta-Matoran began to regroup, forming a large square. The army waited, but there was no sign of the Skrall. A scout was sent to see if there were any Skrall in hiding. As they waited, the Ta-Matoran fidgeted restlessly. Some sharpened their swords and Kanoka discs, while others looked around nervously. Tahu found himself thinking again. _

_It was also a possibility that Velika could be responsible for all of this. It was a strange notion, but Velika was always a strange Matoran. He had an uncanny knowledge of things and talked in riddles. And he had become more and more reclusive, apparently working on an invention of his. There was a rumor going around that he had been working on fixing and upgrading some kind of robot, sort of like the ones Mata-Nui and Makuta had controlled. The Matoran had made a name for it. What was it again? Ma-Maronder? Marander? No. Marendar. The name sent a chill down his spine. The Enforcer, they had called it back at Artakha. He could remember Hydraxon warning all of the Toa to keep to the 'good side.'_

"_Or else, it won't be good for you. We have something just for that occasion. Project MARENDAR, we call it, and it is going to kick your metal asses until you beg for death's sweet, sweet embrace. And then, it's going to give it to you." Tahu repeated the ominous words under his breath._

"Sir! Sir! Water-maidens, plant-growers, and vine-swingers here! Ba-Matoran and loud-talkers here in 10 minutes."

"Good, good. Anyway, I think some of you are falling asleep, aren't you?" the Turaga looked at a softly snoring Lehram and coughed.

"Ah! Night-killer!" the green Toa started awake.

A slight chuckle rippled amongst the listeners, and Tahu began to speak again...


	10. Journals

Sorry guys, this is a little short, and a bit anticlimactic. I mean you've waited god knows how many months, and you're greeted with this snippet? I'm just caught up with schoolwork, and frankly, my interests have sort off drifted, and the Bionicle hype has disappeared. So, I hope you enjoy this little bit. I will post up a new chapter soon, hopefully.  
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"And thus began the search for Velika and Marendar. Kopaka was able to recover some of Velika's hidden journals that even he had seemed to have forgotten about. They consisted of pages upon pages of research and discovery, which was not out of the norm, but the strange thing was most of the research had taken place outside of Mata Nui's body. They were detailed descriptions of creatures we had never seen before, maps of worlds we had never encountered, and records of events that had never taken place—at least, to our knowledge. There was more to Velika than had met the eye. But the strangest of these things was the detailed description and record of the creation of Mata Nui. He had written it as if _he_ had helped in Mata Nui's construction.

"Armed with this new knowledge, we doubled our efforts to find the strange Matoran. We _had_ to find out the entire story. But see, we were mistaken: you don't find Velika; he finds you."


	11. The Smith, The Seer, and The Logician

As the first group of Matoran, comprised of Ga-Matoran, Le-Matoran, and Bo-Matoran, arrived, Tahu continued with his story.

"The Marendar sure was efficient, and so was Velika. He knew almost immediately that we were after him. So he sent his new killing machine after us.It confronted one of our search groups, which was looking in the Su-Wahi wasteland.

"_Man, this place is horrid. Why do people want to live here? You can't see anything though this fog, and there are sandstorms almost every hour. We've passed this same place 4 times already and there's nothing to be seen," an orange armored Toa groaned. Zaria looked lazily around, spinning his weapon in his hands, which was constantly melting into different forms: a spear, then a staff, then an axe, and so on. _

"_Shut up," retorted Orde, a dark blue and gold armored Toa of Psionics, "I'm trying to locate any life signals, any psychic energy." He stopped walking for a moment and stood still. His Elda, the Mask of Detection, glowed with a bright light. After a moment, his mask dimmed and he sighed, saying, "There's nothing out here. We should go back." The two turned and started to head back._

_Suddenly, Kopaka spoke up, in a harsh, low whisper. "Stop." The optical apparatus on his now faintly glowing mask zoomed in an out, searching the wasteland. "There's something out there. It's moving."_

"_Nonsense," retorted Orde, "I'd have known. There aren't any lifeforms on this hellhole."_

"_I understand. But you're forgetting something. You're only looking for lifeforms. You've completely ignored the possibility of a non-living object out there. Hydraxon implied that Marendar was some sort of insentient being, a non-living thing."_

"_Whatever it is, I say we go check it out," said Zaria._

"_No need. It's headed our way. And it doesn't look too friendly," Kopaka said urgently, drawing his sword. A shield formed like frost on his left arm. Zaria grasped an iron lance in his hands, his armor thickening and forming spikes. Orde stood at the ready with his twin knives. _

_The trio waited, listening to every whisper of the wind, carefully examining every shift of the sand, until, after what seemed to have been an eternity, the ground began to shake. The wind was drowned out, and every sand dune was collapsing. An enormous, hulking figure burst out of the fog with a roar of screeching metal. It plunged its hands into the sandy area where the Toa had been a moment earlier. Thankfully, the three had quickly leaped away. The colossus shot its hands up, spraying sand in every direction. The Toa shielded their faces from the falling sand, and the great Marendar found an opportunity to strike at one of the Toa. It swiped at Orde with a clawed hand. Instead of evading the strike, the psychic Toa sunk his knives into the thin crevices of the giant's hands, where the metal connected. He began to wrench the metal apart, but the robot, unable to feel pain, continued its assault. Orde was swiped off of his feet and was forced to leave his knives stuck in the Marendar's hand. As he was falling, he made a last ditch effort to attack Marendar. He flicked his hand, and shot out multiple shuriken-like projectiles at the colossus. The shurikens rebounded off of the giant's armored chest. He landed painfully on his back. Kopaka drove his sword deep into Marendar's free arm, freezing it in place, while Zaria grabbed it and attempted to shape the metal some useless design. The metal arm bubbled and frothed, but there was too much metal for him to drastically change the shape of the arm. So Zaria absorbed as much metal as he could into his armor. He felt the weight of his armor change as the Marendar's arm shortened in length. Unfortunately, it was still operational. The robot pinned the Iron Toa under its foot, as he struggled to thaw the machinery inside its left arm. With its right, it clawed at Kopaka, but when it proved to be fruitless, shot out its fingers from its sockets like bullets. New fingers were reloaded back into place, and Kopaka found himself under a constant barrage of metal, finger-like bullets. He held up his shield and tried desperately to use his ice to form some sort of forcefield. He finally succeeded, but the ice was quickly shattering, and Marendar had added some sort of flamethrower to its weaponry, which was quickly melting the ice. Zaria freed himself from under the giant's foot, and Orde was backing away, throwing shurikens in vain. _

"_It's too strong for us! We gotta get out of here!" Orde shouted frantically. Kopaka threw up his hands and caused a thick, icy wall to form between the giant and the three Toa. _

"_Run!" he shouted. The trio sprinted for their lives, not daring to look back. Yet still, the Marendar pursued them. Seeing the need to go faster, Orde shot up into the sky with glowing eyes. Kopaka's boots formed skates, and he skated on the ground, which he was covering with ice. Zaria was left behind, weighed down with the weight of some of Marendar's left arm._

"_C'mon!" Orde yelled back._

"_I can't keep up!" _

"_Watch out!" Kopaka exclaimed. A bullet buried itself into Zaria. Screaming in pain, he collapsed. The Marendar approached. Orde shot back down to the ground, towards Zaria, and Kopaka was skating back. But they were too late. Marendar stood over the shaking body of Zaria. It slammed its hand down toward the earth._


End file.
